Jazz concert and new music collection coming to the library

PANAMA CITY — The Friends of the Library hopes new music will bring new members.

Amanda Banks / The News Herald

PANAMA CITY — The Friends of the Library hopes new music will bring new members.

The organization, incorporated in 1971, is a support group for the Bay County Public Library, filling a role much like the booster clubs for school athletics and bands. The Friends of the Library purchases books and other necessary materials and sponsors author visits and other events at the library.

With membership in the group declining, library outreach coordinator Bettina Mead wanted to do something to drum up interest and found an opportunity when WKGC, the radio station at Gulf Coast State College, expressed interest in donating some of their CD collection to the library.

“We wanted to introduce our new CD collection courtesy of WKGC by having a musical event,” said Mead.

Sharon Carroll, a local singer and songwriter who was “instrumental” during the time WKGC was building the CD collection being donated to the library, agreed to perform at the Friends of the Library meeting being held at 5:30 p.m. on January 14.

“We’re honored to have the new CD collection and very honored that Sharon would spend her evening with us,” said Mead.

The meeting will consist of a brief welcome and election of officers before Carroll’s performance begins at 6 p.m. Mead hopes the concert will attract prospective members to come learn about the organization.

“We are seeking members, of course, and the benefits are many and we just hope that they’ll join us that evening,” said Mead

Annual membership fees for Friends of Library are $10 for individuals or $20 for families.

The new CDs will be loaned as “unbarcoded” materials, according to the library’s circulation director, Ann Robbins, meaning that there will be no late fines or charges if the CDs are lost. The library already circulates a large collection of paperback books on this system.

“They’re like gifts to the library, in a way, but we keep them and we can circulate them and nobody has to worry about them, but we like them back as an honor system. Most people are honest,” Robbins said.

The library currently has about 350 CDs in its collection; the college will be donating a “large number,” though Mead was not sure of the exact amount. The collection contains mostly jazz and classical music.

WANT TO GO?

-What: Friends of the Library meeting and Sharon Carroll concert

-When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday

-Where: the meeting room at the Bay County Public Library, 898 W. 11th St., Panama City